Crisis in Toyland:
Barbie's Boudoir is Bare!
Since 1959, Mattel's world famous Barbie® doll has come to define the perfect woman; perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect smile, and most of all. . . the perfect figure! As Barbie® wrestles with the age-old fear and anxiety of turning forty, a new dilemma has arisen: finding clothes that fit! Her girlish figure, once a petite 12 inches in height, has developed over the past two years into a new three-foot tall version called "My Size" Barbie®.
The stature of "My Size" Barbie®" gives her an amazing realism. Although toy stores are selling a slew of the new taller Barbie® dolls, to the dismay of many little girls, she comes with only one outfit. Mattel has no immediate plans to furnish additional outfits for the former diminutive plastic princess, and that's turned into numerous requests to merchandizers for a larger choice in wardrobe!
In the spring of 1995, a mother-daughter seamstress team came to the rescue by starting Snippets
(tm) Doll Clothing: a business devoted to making custom clothing for "My Size" Barbie®, and now, matching outfits for children! Interestingly, Pat McWhirter introduced her daughter, as a young child, to sewing by helping her make outfits for her own Barbie® doll. From these humble beginnings, daughter Tammy went on to also become a professional seamstress. Now they are both happily furnishing clothing for the tallest member of the Barbie® family.
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